Railway-signal.



No. 64-15%. Patented Apr. l7, I900. WI. J. BURCDRAN.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

(Application filed Oct. 19, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets8haet I.

No. 647,596. Patented Apr, l7 I900. M. J. CORCORAN.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

(ApplicatiQn filed Oct. (No Model.) 2 Sheats$heet 2.

Untrrn States Patna Uranus.

MICHAEL J. COROORAN, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOSEPH IIOVARD MANIFOLD, OF SAVE PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 647,596, dated April 17, 1900. Application filed October 19, 1898. Serial No. 693,986. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.- signal, located at one side of the crossing and Beit known that I, MICHAEL J. CORCORAN, provided at its upper end with a bell (3, a bell acitizen oftheUnited States,residingat York, striker or hammer 7, and a semaphore-arm in the county of York and State of Pennsylor visual-signal blade 8. Within the upper 5 Vania, have invented certain new and useful end of the casing are arranged the shafts and Improvements in Railway-Signals, of which gearing which support and control the bell the followingis a specification,reference being hammer and semaphore-arm. These parts are had therein to the accompanying drawings. shown best in Figset and 5 and are supported My invention relates to railway signals between parallel brackets or plates 9 and 10,

[ adapted especially for use at grade-crossings; secured to the opposite sides of the casing 60 and the object of the invention is to provide and connected by cross-bars l l. A shaft 12, signal mechanism of simple and inexpensive having bearing in the plates 9 and 10 and exconstruction which will be effective in operatending through the plate 9 and the adjacent tion and durable in use. side of the casing 5, carries the bell-hammer,

I5 One of the main characteristic features of which consists of an arm 13, secured at its 65 the invention is to employ a lever adjacent center to the projecting end 14. of the shaft 12 to the inner side of a railroad-rail to be opand provided at each of its ends with a laterated by the flange of a car-wheel and so erally-projecting headed pin 15, upon which constructed that the contact of the Wheelis loosely mounted a rollerlti. These rollers 20 flange will be against an inclined surface on 16 are secured upon their pins by washers 7c the lever, whereby a sliding contact of the 17 and coil-springs 18, the latter bearing at wheel'flange will be effected, thus avoiding their inner ends against the washers and at the injurious and wearing pounding action their outer ends against the heads of the incident to the use of track-bars which propins 15.

25 ject above the tread-surface of the rail. Upon the shaft 12 is mounted a gear-wheel 75 Another important feature of the improve- 19, which meshes with a spur-wheel 20, fixed ment is the employment of a bell -hammer upon a shaft 21, supported in bearings of the of special construction in combination with plates 9 and 10. Concentric with the spur mechanism for sounding the bell at such he wheel 20 upon the shaft 21 is a pinion 22,

o quent intervals as to make the sound pracwhich meshes with a gear-wheel 23, mounted 8p tically continuous for an appreciable length upon a shaft 24, parallel to but above the of time as distinguished from a gong which shaft 21. This shaft 24:, like the shaft 12, exsounds only at intervals. tends through the plate 9 and the side of the The invention also contemplates the simulcasing 5, and upon its projecting end 25 the 5 taneous operation of both a bell and a visual signal arm or blade 8 is secured.

signal and various otherdetail features, which Upon the shaft 24, concentric with the gearwill be fully described hereinafter and dewheel 23, is fixed asprocket-wheel 20, around fined in the appended claims. which passes a sprocketchain 27, one end of In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is which is secured to the upper end of a rea plan view of a section of a railway track and tracting-spring 28, the lower end of which is 90 crossing with my improved signaling mechsecured to the inner side of the casing, as anism applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevashown in Fig. 3. The other end of the tion of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section sprocket-chain passes down within the casing through the signal stand or casing, and Figs. 5 and around a sprocket-wheel 29 at the base 4 and 5 illustrate parts in detail. of said casing, the wheel 29 being mounted 5 The reference-numerals 1 and 2 designate uponasuitable shaft 30, asshown. The chain the rails of a railway-track, and 3 a crossing then passes around another sprocket-Wheel for vehicles, built up in the usual manner 32, mounted at right angles to the wheel 29 from parallel strips or boards 4. upon a stud or pin 38, projecting from one of 5 designates the box or hollow casing of the the railway-ties, and the end 34. of said chain mo is connected to a wire 35, which extends across the crossing 3 and along the adjacent rail of the track to a pulley 36, horizontally mounted upon a stud or pin 37,, projecting from the end of one of the ties 38. After passing around the pulley 36 the wire 35 is passed through an opening 39 in the rail and is connected to the end of a lever 40. This lever is fulcrumed between the rails 1 and 2 upon a pivotal support 41, and its arm 42 is curved or deflected to leave a triangular space 43 between it and the rail 1, into which the flange of the wheel passes to force the lever away from the rail. A spring 44, connected at one end to the arm 42 of the lever and at its opposite end to the under side of the rail 1, serves to retract the lever after the passage of the wheel. The wire 35 passes through a tube or protectingpipe 45, located between the rail 2 and the crossing-platform, said tube extending the width of the crossing.

It will be noted that the wire 35 lies within the hollow of the rail 2 and is protected by the base and head of the rail. Suitable eyes or keepers 46 are preferably arranged at intervals along the outer side of the rail to guide the wire in its movements.

The operation of the mechanism thus described is as follows: When the flange of the wheel of a passing train enters the space 46 between the lever and rail 1, it throws the end 42 of the lever away from the rail and the opposite end of said lever toward the rail, the result being that the wire 35 is pulled rearward, which pulls the chain and effects a revolution of the shafts through the sprocketwheel 26 and the train of gearing described. As soon as one wheel passes the lever the spring 44 retracts the lever and the spring 28 within the casing 5 retracts the chain. This results in an oscillation of the hammer, and the contact of the next and succeeding wheels insures the ringing of the bell with great rapidity and for a length of time sufficient to give an amply-prolonged signal.

It will be obvious that the signal-blade is lowered to the danger position by the same means which ring the bell, thus giving both an audible and a visual signal at the same time.

While the above description and the accompanyin g illustration are confined to a single-track road and a single signal, it will be understood that my invention comprehends such a duplication of the signal and connections as will adapt them for double-track roads or for the passage of trains in either direction over a single track. I therefore desire to reserve the right to make all such changes and modifications as to details as may properly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim-- 1. In a railway-signal the combinationwith a casing, of a pair of shafts, a rotary striker and an oscillatory visual signal carried di rectly by said shafts upon the exterior of the casing, a bell in operative proximity to the striker, and actuating mechanism common to said shafts for effecting the oscillation of the signal-shaft and the rotation of the strikershaft, substantially as specified.

2. In a railway-signal the combination with a casing, of a pair of shafts journaled therein, an oscillatory signal-blade, and a rotary striker directly carried respectively at the ends of said shafts outside of the casing, a bell in proximity to the striker.

3. Asprocket-wheelmounted on the signalshaft,a sprocket-chain passed over said wheel, a spring secured within the casing and connected to one end of the chain, an actuatinglever mounted upon a vertical pivot and having a horizontally-deflected end, a spring opposing resistance to the movement of the deflected end of the lever, a flexible piece connecting the opposite end of the lever with the chain, and means for efiectin g the rotation of the striker-shaft through the oscillation of the signal-shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL J. OORCORAN.

Witnesses:

C. B. PROOTOR, R. D. HOPKINS. 

